🏈 First down marker placement on that final play for Louisville

[planomateo]

This is crazy. Does anyone know if there are rules as to the placement for the markers on the sideline. Hard to believe there aren't rules for this with all the other silly ass rules.

 

[JoshB]

Def. fishy. Especially at that moment they have to make sure everything is done right.

 

[OldPlayer]

The line that we see on TV comes from a device that makes the line based on the 10-yard marker and another device placed at the same place on the other side of the field. If you watch the replay, he was well short of that line and you can see he was short of the marker. The photo above shows the receiver after he stopped running, not where he went out of bounds. There is no conspiracy or cheating here.

 

[planomateo]

The line that we see on TV comes from a device that makes the line based on the 10-yard marker and another device placed at the same place on the other side of the field. If you watch the replay, he was well short of that line and you can see he was short of the marker. The photo above shows the receiver after he stopped running, not where he went out of bounds. There is no conspiracy or cheating here.

You mean they don't see a yellow line across the field. I had no idea.

:sarcasm:

Not saying there is a conspiracy, just thought it was an odd time to have the marker that far off the sideline. I don't know if it had anything to do with why he went out of bounds. Just interesting.

 

[psychojoe]

I wondered at the time if he had forgotten that it was 4th down. With a TO still available he had no reason to worry about being tackled in bounds.

 

[JoshB]

The line that we see on TV comes from a device that makes the line based on the 10-yard marker and another device placed at the same place on the other side of the field. If you watch the replay, he was well short of that line and you can see he was short of the marker. The photo above shows the receiver after he stopped running, not where he went out of bounds. There is no conspiracy or cheating here.

Wow... so did you just not read anything about that article other than the headline and the picture? Like really dude you could not have read that and come away thinking that the person that wrote it (or anyone reading it for that matter) thought the players could see the freaking yellow line. The question is why the orange marker on the sideline (which is supposed to be there to give players and coaches reference) was so far off the sideline. Read next time.

 

[Vertical]

Wow... so did you just not read anything about that article other than the headline and the picture? Like really dude you could not have read that and come away thinking that the person that wrote it (or anyone reading it for that matter) thought the players could see the freaking yellow line. The question is why the orange marker on the sideline (which is supposed to be there to give players and coaches reference) was so far off the sideline. Read next time.

Yeah, I was gonna say something similar... the article has nothing to do with where the player is standing in that particular frame vs. where the marker is, it is about why that marker was sooooo far off to the side, possibly impacting the player's judgement of where the line was.

 

[UAgrad93]

I think it was a combination of heat of the moment, 4th down, the false start that backed them up, etc. I really don't think anything was done intentionally so as to throw the WRs off as to where the first down marker was located. Like @psychojoe said, they had a TO to burn, so there wasn't a need to rush to try and get out of bounds. It didn't help the the Clemson defender came up and popped him out of bounds. I like a good conspiracy, but this isn't one of them for me.

 

[OldPlayer]

Wow... so did you just not read anything about that article other than the headline and the picture? Like really dude you could not have read that and come away thinking that the person that wrote it (or anyone reading it for that matter) thought the players could see the freaking yellow line. The question is why the orange marker on the sideline (which is supposed to be there to give players and coaches reference) was so far off the sideline. Read next time.

So who pissed in your Wheaties? Everything is supposed to be off the sideline for the safety of players. Years ago, Bubba Smith tore up his knee when he hit a 10-yard marker (holders were supposed to throw it down if they saw action coming to them). Now, everything (coaches, players, photographers, etc) are supposed to be back from the actual sideline.

College NCAA Football Field Dimension Diagram | Court & Field Dimension Diagrams in 3D, History, Rules – SportsKnowHow.com

 

[Destiny's Child]

I actually work the chains for high school games and can lend a little insight on this.

The sticks are suppose to be 2 yards or more off the sideline. But the old rule of chains being set before play resumes went by by with the HUNH offenses. Only the box(the down marker) that marks the line of scrimmage has to be there. There is no way the chains can keep up. The offenses go too fast, the chain gang fights thru a sea of humanity of players, coaches, camera men, ball boys and boosters, so it makes hard when you are tryin to get by with poles attached by a chain.

Lastly if there is a play coming to you you are supposed to lay them down or take them with you out of the way. There is a clip marker on the chain so they can put them right back where they were every time.

The chains are for the officials mainly, the players need to look at the line of scrimmage before each series and get an idea where the first down is.. It their responsibility

 

[TerryP]

The line that we see on TV comes from a device that makes the line based on the 10-yard marker and another device placed at the same place on the other side of the field.

The last time I saw a production crew at a game they were doing it all with computers, a spotter on the field and a production assistant in the truck. There's a process they go through—pre game—to create a virtual field (so to speak.) There are a couple of other assistants working with palettes ... but, no connection to the markers that I saw (or have read about.)

There was an article that came out a few years ago that broke this down a lot better than I just did ... simple google search would likely have several articles and a few vids, I suspect.

 

[planomateo]

There are pictures in the article that show the marker being placed within the painted sidelines (although I can't tell which sideline that is - Clemson or Louisville). Just interesting that the marker is that far away. Was it this far away the entire time on this sideline?

 

[TerryP]

(although I can't tell which sideline that is - Clemson or Louisville).

To the right of the linesman, holding the football ... that kid looks like he's in 'Ville clothing which would put him in the Clemson sideline, right?

 

[rick4bama]

Here another thread that is one of the best we have on here. Look it doesn't matter now if he had it or not, he was just that much to short of getting the first down.

 

[planomateo]

To the right of the linesman, holding the football ... that kid looks like he's in 'Ville clothing which would put him in the Clemson sideline, right?

Yup, Clemson sideline. Hard to tell how those markers were placed throughout the game due to the camera angle.

 

[jocephus8179]

Why is no one talking about how the guy who sets the first down marker is celebrating like a giddy six year old after the play? He even points at the spot where the player runs out of bounds like he's telling the ref HE DIDN'T MAKE IT (also shown in the screen shot above). Afterwards, he claps and fist pumps. That's a big no no for an officiating or a chain crew.

 

[planomateo]

Why is no one talking about how the guy who sets the first down marker is celebrating like a giddy six year old after the play? He even points at the spot where the player runs out of bounds like he's telling the ref HE DIDN'T MAKE IT (also shown in the screen shot above). Afterwards, he claps and fist pumps. That's a big no no for an officiating or a chain crew.

Good question. The linesmen on the other side of the field are stone cold. There are several times when the play is coming right at them and they don't move.

 

[jocephus8179]

Good question. The linesmen on the other side of the field are stone cold. There are several times when the play is coming right at them and they don't move.

Which is what they're supposed to do. They are supposed to be unbiased just like the refs. Imagine a referee doing that. Line crews are supposed to be held to the same standards as the officiating crews. The first time i ran chains for my son's youth football game, our team made a good play near us on the sideline and i hollared ALRIGHT. During the next timeout, the line judge called us all over and told us we couldn't do that.

 

[jocephus8179]

Add the guy's reaction along with his placement of the marker, it could really be taken as something fishy

 

[planomateo]

The whole thing seems odd to me, just kinda bummed its on the Clemson sideline as the camera doesn't provide many good opportunities to see placement throughout the game. If I remember later tonight I'll see if ESPN3 still has the skycam view of the game available.